Unusual News

Psychiatric illness, mood disorders and lack of social support are recognized risk factors for suicide. Some studies show that increased elevation may enhance psychological problems, such as panic attacks, and that altitude is a significant risk factor for depressive symptoms and suicide. It's now shown that Americans in higher-altitude counties are at a higher risk for suicide. In Utah, the average geographic altitude is about 6,000 feet, and the rate of suicide is 70% higher than average. read more

In Alabama’s runoff election for the GOP nomination for a U.S. Senate seat, Luther Strange may have the crowning endorsement of President Trump, but Roy Moore seemed to have support from beyond the grave. On Monday night, Moore’s campaign deleted an endorsement on its website from conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, after it became apparent that Schlafly died last year at the age of 92. The two candidates have sought endorsements outside of Alabama to win over GOP voters. read more

Our idea about what it takes to regulate panhandling intelligently: Encourage “successful panhandling,” which brings together willing donors and willing solicitors; and discourage “unsuccessful panhandling,” which targets people who don’t even want to see solicitations, let alone give money to someone asking for help on the sidewalk. What’s wrong with most anti-panhandling ordinances is that they try to ban or discourage both kinds instead of promoting the former and discouraging the latter. read more

Jarlstrom sued the Portland suburb, claiming it programmed its yellow lights to be so brief that drivers didn’t have time to make it through an intersection before they turned red, putting drivers in danger. After the judge tossed his suit, a state agency launched a two-year investigation of Jarlstrom, then fined him $500 for publicly critiquing the mathematical formulas behind traffic light cameras without an engineering license. Jarlstrom calls that a prohibition on free speech. read more

A "staggering" number of town residents have been arrested based on a “hunch” or “feeling” that they were involved in criminal activity. Police strip-searched individuals suspected of committing crimes, placed them in cells without beds, toilets, or showers, and denied them communication with loved ones for days at a time. Citizens were “commonly detained for 72 hours or more without being provided an opportunity to contest their arrest and detention,” said the Justice Department report. read more

There were 2,054 transportation-related episodes that resulted in fatalities, accounting for about 42 percent of all workplace deaths. As a result, 745 drivers of heavy and tractor-trailer trucks died because of injuries at work last year, more than any other major civilian occupation. Falls, slips and trips made up the next most common major cause of workplace fatalities, resulting in 800 deaths last year. Men accounted for all but 7 percent of the total workplace deaths in 2015. read more

The pollsters offered up five options for most annoying word or phrase: "Whatever," ''No offense, but," ''Ya know, right," ''I can't even" and "huge." "No offense, but" is second with 20 percent. In third place is, "You know, right," which is irksome to 14 percent of people, tied with "I can't even." ''Huge" grates on the nerves of 8 percent. "Whatever" is losing some steam, though. Last year it topped the list at 43 percent. read more

Guiding Santa’s sleigh isn’t the only thing Rudolph and his reindeer friends are responsible for: they also play an important role in slowing down climate change. A team of researchers discovered that grazing reindeer reduce the abundance of tundra shrubs, which increases the level of surface albedo – solar energy reflected by Earth back into space. “The effect reindeer grazing can have on albedo and energy balances is potentially large enough to be regionally important,” said Mariska te Beest. read more

The judge allowed the young people to amend their complaint and move ahead with their constitutional claims "so as to have their day in court," Judge Hill wrote. "The Court takes this action due to the emergent need for coordinated science based action by the State of Washington to address climate change before efforts to do so are too costly and too late." The petitioners can now go to court and argue that the state has violated their rights under the state constitution. read more

Patients who got most of their care from women doctors were more likely to leave the hospital alive than those treated by men. The differences were small. But the all-male research team estimated that there would be about 32,000 fewer deaths each year in the U.S. if male physicians performed at the same level as their female peers. Women doctors were found more likely than men to follow treatment guidelines, provide preventive care more often and communicate more with patients. read more

The costs to whistleblowers are high; they often face retaliation and are unable to find work because they are blackballed. These very real perils underscore the significance of new research that found a sharp and lasting drop in financial wrongdoing at companies that were subject to whistleblower investigations. “Following the allegations,” said the study, “whistleblower firms are significantly more likely to experience a decrease in the incidence of accounting irregularities." read more

The Times Union of Albany reports that a caller told police there was an elderly woman "frozen to death" in a parked car. Officers rushed to the scene and found what appeared to be a woman sitting in a car's front passenger seat wearing an oxygen mask. A sergeant busted a rear window, opened the door and discovered that the woman was a realistic mannequin. read more

"I found the numbers astounding, the sheer volume of technology used by parents," Steyer said. "There's really a big disconnect between their own behavior and their self-perception, as well as their perception of their kids." "Yet 78% of all parents believe they are good media and technology role models for their children," said the survey. The activities include TV/video viewing; video gaming; social networking or website browsing, and any other task on a computer, smartphone or tablet. read more

"This was a criminal, fraud operation masquerading as a fake U.S. embassy," said the U.S. State Dept. It was not clear how many people were defrauded by the fake embassy, which charged $6,000 for its services. Those running the operation were able to bribe corrupt officials "to look the other way," the State Dept said. The fake embassy featured an American flag and photo of President Barack Obama. The fake consular officers were Turkish. read more

When interest rates go up, crime goes up. When interest rates go down, crime goes down. This has been so at least since 1953. Rarely does social science research yield such a high statistical association and strong relationship between two phenomena, particularly when they are not intuitively related. Nobody would suggest that high interest rates directly cause crime. But there is a wealth of evidence on the causes of crime that demystifies this seemingly baffling relationship. read more

The normally secretive federal agency, in a bizarre series of oddly informal postings on its Twitter account, revealed that officials apparently concluded, erroneously, that Trump had committed on his own Twitter account to divesting his assets. “As we discussed with your counsel, divestiture is the way to resolve these conflicts,” they wrote on Twitter, later adding: “Bravo! Only way to resolve these conflicts of interest is to divest. Good call!” In fact, Trump had made no such commitment. read more

Unusual News

Psychiatric illness, mood disorders and lack of social support are recognized risk factors for suicide. Some studies show that increased elevation may enhance psychological problems, such as panic attacks, and that altitude is a significant risk factor for depressive symptoms and suicide. It's now shown that Americans in higher-altitude counties are at a higher risk for suicide. In Utah, the average geographic altitude is about 6,000 feet, and the rate of suicide is 70% higher than average. read more

In Alabama’s runoff election for the GOP nomination for a U.S. Senate seat, Luther Strange may have the crowning endorsement of President Trump, but Roy Moore seemed to have support from beyond the grave. On Monday night, Moore’s campaign deleted an endorsement on its website from conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, after it became apparent that Schlafly died last year at the age of 92. The two candidates have sought endorsements outside of Alabama to win over GOP voters. read more

Our idea about what it takes to regulate panhandling intelligently: Encourage “successful panhandling,” which brings together willing donors and willing solicitors; and discourage “unsuccessful panhandling,” which targets people who don’t even want to see solicitations, let alone give money to someone asking for help on the sidewalk. What’s wrong with most anti-panhandling ordinances is that they try to ban or discourage both kinds instead of promoting the former and discouraging the latter. read more

Jarlstrom sued the Portland suburb, claiming it programmed its yellow lights to be so brief that drivers didn’t have time to make it through an intersection before they turned red, putting drivers in danger. After the judge tossed his suit, a state agency launched a two-year investigation of Jarlstrom, then fined him $500 for publicly critiquing the mathematical formulas behind traffic light cameras without an engineering license. Jarlstrom calls that a prohibition on free speech. read more

A "staggering" number of town residents have been arrested based on a “hunch” or “feeling” that they were involved in criminal activity. Police strip-searched individuals suspected of committing crimes, placed them in cells without beds, toilets, or showers, and denied them communication with loved ones for days at a time. Citizens were “commonly detained for 72 hours or more without being provided an opportunity to contest their arrest and detention,” said the Justice Department report. read more

There were 2,054 transportation-related episodes that resulted in fatalities, accounting for about 42 percent of all workplace deaths. As a result, 745 drivers of heavy and tractor-trailer trucks died because of injuries at work last year, more than any other major civilian occupation. Falls, slips and trips made up the next most common major cause of workplace fatalities, resulting in 800 deaths last year. Men accounted for all but 7 percent of the total workplace deaths in 2015. read more

The pollsters offered up five options for most annoying word or phrase: "Whatever," ''No offense, but," ''Ya know, right," ''I can't even" and "huge." "No offense, but" is second with 20 percent. In third place is, "You know, right," which is irksome to 14 percent of people, tied with "I can't even." ''Huge" grates on the nerves of 8 percent. "Whatever" is losing some steam, though. Last year it topped the list at 43 percent. read more

Guiding Santa’s sleigh isn’t the only thing Rudolph and his reindeer friends are responsible for: they also play an important role in slowing down climate change. A team of researchers discovered that grazing reindeer reduce the abundance of tundra shrubs, which increases the level of surface albedo – solar energy reflected by Earth back into space. “The effect reindeer grazing can have on albedo and energy balances is potentially large enough to be regionally important,” said Mariska te Beest. read more

The judge allowed the young people to amend their complaint and move ahead with their constitutional claims "so as to have their day in court," Judge Hill wrote. "The Court takes this action due to the emergent need for coordinated science based action by the State of Washington to address climate change before efforts to do so are too costly and too late." The petitioners can now go to court and argue that the state has violated their rights under the state constitution. read more

Patients who got most of their care from women doctors were more likely to leave the hospital alive than those treated by men. The differences were small. But the all-male research team estimated that there would be about 32,000 fewer deaths each year in the U.S. if male physicians performed at the same level as their female peers. Women doctors were found more likely than men to follow treatment guidelines, provide preventive care more often and communicate more with patients. read more

The costs to whistleblowers are high; they often face retaliation and are unable to find work because they are blackballed. These very real perils underscore the significance of new research that found a sharp and lasting drop in financial wrongdoing at companies that were subject to whistleblower investigations. “Following the allegations,” said the study, “whistleblower firms are significantly more likely to experience a decrease in the incidence of accounting irregularities." read more

The Times Union of Albany reports that a caller told police there was an elderly woman "frozen to death" in a parked car. Officers rushed to the scene and found what appeared to be a woman sitting in a car's front passenger seat wearing an oxygen mask. A sergeant busted a rear window, opened the door and discovered that the woman was a realistic mannequin. read more

"I found the numbers astounding, the sheer volume of technology used by parents," Steyer said. "There's really a big disconnect between their own behavior and their self-perception, as well as their perception of their kids." "Yet 78% of all parents believe they are good media and technology role models for their children," said the survey. The activities include TV/video viewing; video gaming; social networking or website browsing, and any other task on a computer, smartphone or tablet. read more

"This was a criminal, fraud operation masquerading as a fake U.S. embassy," said the U.S. State Dept. It was not clear how many people were defrauded by the fake embassy, which charged $6,000 for its services. Those running the operation were able to bribe corrupt officials "to look the other way," the State Dept said. The fake embassy featured an American flag and photo of President Barack Obama. The fake consular officers were Turkish. read more

When interest rates go up, crime goes up. When interest rates go down, crime goes down. This has been so at least since 1953. Rarely does social science research yield such a high statistical association and strong relationship between two phenomena, particularly when they are not intuitively related. Nobody would suggest that high interest rates directly cause crime. But there is a wealth of evidence on the causes of crime that demystifies this seemingly baffling relationship. read more

The normally secretive federal agency, in a bizarre series of oddly informal postings on its Twitter account, revealed that officials apparently concluded, erroneously, that Trump had committed on his own Twitter account to divesting his assets. “As we discussed with your counsel, divestiture is the way to resolve these conflicts,” they wrote on Twitter, later adding: “Bravo! Only way to resolve these conflicts of interest is to divest. Good call!” In fact, Trump had made no such commitment. read more